An Orleans County man has been hospitalized following an explosion in his Town of Carlton home.

75-year-old Wesley Baes sustained what authorities described as severe burns. He was flown to Strong memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight. The incident occurred at about 11:20 this morning a home on South Hillcrest Drive.

Deputies say Baes was operating an acetylene torch in an attempt to patch a hole in a 200 gallon above-ground gasoline tank. The tank had been drained, but there was residual vapors that ignited and caused the explosion.